Harbor Shack

Overall this is the best place in Rock Hall. The kitchen is consistently good, the service is good, the waterfront is always interesting and scenic, and the owner Donna is almost always there and in control. If you go to Rock Hall, this is the place to go.

Been coming here for years and never can get past something made with shrimp salad because it’s so amazing. Sadly, my last shrimp salad came up short. Where it used to spill out of the wrap this time I could barely see it. The flavor is gone too, no seasonings at all. I’ll go back because I love the place but I’ll order something else. Finally,

Fun for drinks & a great view. Love the low key vibe.

Nicest staff ever. We got in early and they welcomed us right in. Everyone is happy and kind and even on a cloudy day its a fun time here on the deck.

I came here with a friend of mine who lives in the area. She recommended this place based on the atmosphere and food. The atmosphere was nice because it’s right on the water and you definitely have a nice outdoor experience. The food was fine. The three of us that were dining enjoyed our actual meals. The problem for us was the service. The restaurant was lively, but not insanely busy. It took way too long for a server to reach us. Once she did, she was the most standoffish server I’ve had in a while. Once we ordered, she didn’t even bring us our meal. Once we got our meals, she never came back to our table once except to bring the check. My friend actually got up and got her own take-​out container. The real icing on top of the cake was that we asked her to split the check. Once again, we were only a party of three. When we got our checks, she added 20% gratuity to each check! Sorry, but you don’t deserve 20%. My friend who had been there before left a note on her check about that. We just paid and wanted to get out of there. The poor service experience trumped the food and atmosphere sadly.

Great find! Enjoyed bacon, spinach salad w blackened chicken and crab cake sandwich. So relaxing and beautiful view.

Awesome place where the locals hang with the boaters. Funny menu mix of eastern shore and Mexican but it totally works with the vibe. Very, very friendly staff. Super casual. Very much a waterfront bar restaurant.
We had the salad, tuna appetizer, crab cake sandwich and the fish and chips. All good. Would love to see them add simple street tacos and sweet plantains with queso fresco/​crema to the menu mix. If I could be totally picky — higher quality tortillas (restaurant made/​fresh).
We’ll absolutely go back. Loved it!

Stopped at the Harbor Shack for lunch, first time visitor. Good food and efficient service. I would go back there again. Water side seating and great view of harbor.

We keep our boat near by and have been going to the Shack for over 5 years. Its our absolute favorite and look forward to going there EVERY weekend. Its the «shack.» Its not a 5 star restaurant. That said… that’s exactly why we love it. Rock Hall has its own very laid back personality and that’s the shack. Locals and boaters all there to just chill out and have a good meal. Sure sometimes the band is so so but sometimes (East Rock) their GREAT! We have NEVER had a bad meal-​ever. Always enjoy ourselves. As it says on the menu.“Don’t be in a hurry because we’re not.” That’s the point. Chill out, relax enjoy the view and have a great meal for a very reasonable price. Dare you to find better drink prices on the bay.
The food is actually good. Prefer it over Waterman’s any day of the week. Great burger, chicken quesadia, prime rib, chicken chesapeake, crab cakes etc etc. All good.
If you go, tell them Jack and Cathy sent you and tip the waitress well (its a short season and their good folks). Take your time. Enjoy.

I had the crab cake stacker sandwich and it was really good. The crabcake was seasoned well and i enjoyed the avocado may mix. I did not like the swiss cheese on it. It was barely melted so i peeled it right off. The cream-​sickle drink was good as well, not very strong. I tried some of my boyfriends jambalaya and it was very spicy.

Our favorite place to hang out on the deck and drink a blue moon on a hot summer afternoon. Watch the boats parading by. Hot crab dip is great, crab cakes and seared tuna very nice. Live bands and dancing in the evenings on the weekends Keep it simple and you will be satisfied.

For what it is, Harbor Shack has a good menu, atmosphere and setup. We spend a lot of time in Rock Hall and go here frequently. Good bands once in a while. Do not expect fast paced anything around here, RH is for relaxing and taking it easy. Crad Dip and soft shell crabs are good to get. Maybe if I was not a regular, I would give it 3 stars… The food, like most places can ‘miss’ once in a while, but the staff and people are always friendly and accomodating.

Not a fan. Nothing to write home about. The food wasn’t good. The fries were frozen.

Great place with a fun atmosphere and good menu. Not too spendy. Sit on the porch and gaze at the water. Order a VAT… er ah… glass of vino. Let the chillins play in the water and sand as you enjoy your time. Get the CRAB STACKER!!! Avocado, bacon, crab… YUM!!!

We had a recent day on the shore and friends took us to this waterside location for lunch. We were a large group and were happy to peruse the many dining areas to find a huge picnic table on the center deck.
Service was crab house style and it was a good thing we were not in a hurry. Got to remember to sloow down on the other side of the Bridge! The setting was beautiful and some of our less patient, under 10 crowd played by the boat ramp after they had their hot dog.
The menu is varied from entrees app, seafood, brisket sandwich to Mexican. I opted for the special soft crab sandwich, Jeff has the crab cake stacker. The stacker was a crab cake with wasabi mayo, sliced applewood bacon, tomato and sliced advocado on the soft roll. It was as you might guessed, fantastic. My softies, two, were fried then broiled and served on Texas toast with great slaw and marginal fries.
Overall is was a good experience, quicker service would have garnered another star. It’s also fairly priced but not cheap eats.

Repositioning my sailboat in early December… weather marginal. Cold. Was about an hour from getting dark so I put in at Rock Harbor. The harbor was quiet but some cars are parked near a place with a big sign «Harbor Shack.» So I tied the boat up at the end of the pier. Once inside was greeted by a smiling staff that didn’t seem to care that I wasn’t local. I asked the staff who I need to talk to to stay the night at the pier. Was told the name of the fellow… but…BUT…there are slips available for customers for FREE:) Blue Moon on tap… PERFECT. Ordered a burger that was well-​proportioned and juicy. French fry serving a little on the small side… but man were these folks the nicest! Spent the evening there talking to folks from town and left… the check was only $ 25:) Plus the free slip I felt like I was ripping them off:(Atmosphere is wonderful and the bar food is above average. The crab dip is a HUGE serving by the way!
The weather turned worse the next day and I arranged for storage of my boat until spring. My wife came to pick me up with the kids (3 and 6 years old). Again, wonderful experience. The boys befriended a girl their age and were provided a basket of crayons and coloring pages by the staff… they decided to set up a coloring area in a corner of the restaurant and the staff was more than happy to let the kids play.
I plan on going back here again and again. Even if the food was terrible I would go here simply because the staff is wonderful and the atmosphere perfect for a waterman’s town. Not «as good as it gets…» but darn close!

What a disaster. My guy and I came here for a quick bite, at the recommendation of a local bookseller. It happened to be pirates and wenches weekend, so maybe that accounted for our experience.
My guy ordered the cheese quesadilla, and I ordered the Maryland crab soup, at the server’s suggestion. The quesadilla was unremarkable and soggy. My soup was full of salt, so much that I had to dilute it with water, and it still was salty.
We also had bad run-​ins with other customers (one tried to hit on me, others were obnoxiously loud). That is not the restaurant’s fault, but they did add to the overall experience.